There's been a lot of concern expressed amongst Christians this year about the elimination of the word "Christmas" and substituting it with "Holiday". Help me out here...why do we as Christians need the world to validate our holy days? And why do we need stores... the same stores that have hijacked our holy days and made them greedy days...why do we need their validation especially? It seems to me that the Christian church would celebrate the separation of materialism from Christmas, not criticize it.
I just find it odd that Christians are the first to object to the need to be politically correct in other areas but here, at Christmas, they are retaliating with their own form of "PC". This is the kind of behavior that makes the world hate Christians and not want to be one. This is the kind of external religion that is about looking good on the outside instead of being good on the inside.
I just don't understand why Christians demand the world to dance to their tune. Why should they? They will do what seems right to them...and they should. Why would we want them to be phony - to talk about God, Jesus, and Christmas - as if they believe, when they don't? It would irritate me if Muslims imposed their festival on me and then got mad if I tried to neutralize the verbage.
I think we need to wake up and realize that we live in a pluralisitic society. Yes, Christianity dominated culture for a long time...for good and for bad. It's not that way anymore. Let's get over it and move on. Let's find better ways to influence culture than to berate stores and such for not using our terminology for a holiday that we let get away from us.
Our faith should highlight a transforming relationship with a living God, not petty nit-picking over words for a pseudo-Christian holiday. Is that really what we want to be known for?
Well...there you have my mild mannered opinion. Feel free to disagree!
